CTS-3: Station Capers
by cairodude12
Summary: Commander Valentina and Pilot Genezer gear up for another adventure in space! This time they're taking a robotic arm and pressurized mating adapter to the Crippen Orbital Space Station aboard Explorer (CTS Block 6 LT). But chaos ensues when the flight director loses focus and causes the crew to miss their rendezvous with the station. Will they have enough fuel to get back alive?


CTS-3: Station Capers

An EJ_SA Fanfiction

By: Cairodude12

Valentina looked up from the booklet of checklists she clutched in her little green hand towards Kerbol. The yellow sun was glaring through the triple paned window in front of her with not a cloud to be seen. In fact, Valentina could not even remember a cloud ever being seen for a launch at the KSC. It was just one of those things you let the guys back at mission control worry about. The weather is their problem, she thought. My problem is getting this billion kerbdollar contraption into orbit. Then again it's really the computers doing the flying, I'm just a redundancy. She quickly glanced at the cockpit's internal cameras and proceeded to throw a couple of switches.

Genezer clambered up onto his seat to the right of Valentina, using the horizontal chair back as a ladder. He slid into place, adjusting his harness as the technician strapped him in. His hands shook as he reached for his own booklet.

"Nervous?" Asked Valentina, not even bothering to turn her head to look at the rookie astronaut. Genezer nodded, gulped, and looked back down to his lists. Despite all those months spent training, despite thousands of pages of manuals read, Genezer still didn't feel prepared to go to space. He frantically flipped through his booklet. How am I supposed to pilot this orbiter if they won't even run through the procedures with me?

"Relax Gene. We'll get this puppy home, just you wait and see." The confident tone of Valentina's voice was comforting but it did little to soothe the pain in his back.

"What are these seats made of anyway?" he asked.

"Not leather, if that's what you're asking." Jebediah's voice boomed through his helmet. "By the way, you left your mic on rookie. That teary goodbye to your mother, yeah, I heard all of it. Over." Valentina let out a chuckle, while Genezer looked down, blushing as much as his green skin would allow. Jebediah paused for a second, "Oh right, Explorer, this is mission control, radio check, over."

"Roger mission control, But I don't want to hear any more of your famous survival stories," quipped Valentina, "you're scaring the rookie." She turned to Genezer. "This is just a routine mission. We'll fly up to Crippen Station, attach PMA1 and the Kraken Arm, and be home in time for snacks. Remember your training, and we'll both make it back without any problems." Genezer gulped again and nodded. Valentina gave him an awkward slap on the shoulder, before turning back to her checklists.

"Explorer, this is mission control. Ready abort advisory check."

"Roger, check is satisfactory. Lets hope we don't need it. Out." A bright red button marked ABORT lit up on the orbiters console. Genezer eyed it warily.

"Explorer, this is control. Side hatch it secure." Genezer looked behind him. He hadn't noticed all the support crew sneaking back out the hatch. He suddenly felt very alone.

"Roger, we copy. Cabin pressure reading at a nominal 14.7 psi."

"Roger, out." Valentina never looked up from her lists once during the whole exchange. She reached behind her chair and pulled out a candy bar. Genezer eyed the chocolate lustfully.

"Always bring snacks to your seat," Val advised, skillfully unwrapping the bar with her unwieldy gloves. "You never know how long they're gonna have you sit here." She flipped a few more switches while holding the chocolate bar in her mouth.

"Control, this is Explorer. Nitrogen supply switch on, over."

"Roger." Valentina looked over to Genezer.

"What?... Oh!" Genezer exclaimed as his training belatedly kicked in. "C-c-control, th-this is Explorer. General purpose computer, backup flight system complete."

"Roger, out." Valentina nodded, and returned to her checklists. It was a warm day in equatorial Kerbin and heat was radiating off the mobile launch platform. Mirages glittered as trucks made their way away from the pad, evacuating all personnel. On top of the external tank, the beanie cap like vent hood slid away leaving the stack attached to the pad only by the eight explosive bolts holding down the liquid fuel boosters and the refueling masts behind the orbiter's wings.

"Explorer, this is control. Ground crew secure, over." Val promptly responded, "roger. OMS pressure on."

"Roger, we see that, over." Then there was silence, interrupted by the sound of flipping booklets. Finally, Genezer timidly broke the silence.

"Control, this is Explorer. Flight plan is loaded into the computer, over."

"Roger, we will conduct the abort check, over." Genezer jumped as the ABORT button lit up brightly, got dimmer, and then turned off three times.

Val confirmed, "Roger, looks good." More silence. Genezer was starting to get unnerved by the quietness of the whole ordeal. I could probably fall asleep right here if it weren't for these uncomfortable chairs and the sunlight burning through the windshield he thought as his eyes drooped.

"Explorer, this is control. Event timer started. T minus three minutes to launch." Jebediah's voice jarred Genezer back to consciousness and reminded him of what he was supposed to do.

"Uh, control this is Explorer. Prestart complete. Powering up APU's, over."

"APU's look good. You are on internal power, out." Genezer continued to run through his list, check after check, system by system. Finally he heard Jebediah come over the radio and say, "Explorer this is control. H2 tank pressurization ok. You are go for launch, over." His heart started to be more quickly. But it wasn't fear, no, this time, it was excitement. Genezer was going to space today!

"Roger, go for launch." Valentina flipped a couple more switches, just for good measure.

"APU start is go, You are on your on-board computer, over." Suddenly the voice of flight director Wernher Von Kerman filled the flight deck. His thick accent drawled out the countdown.

"15..." Genezer took a gulp of air and held his breath.

"14..."

"13..." Valentina closed her checklist booklet and pinned it in her lap with her arm.

"12..."

"11..." Genezer closed his eyes.

"10..."

"9..." Valentina glanced back at the camera and messed with the flight stick a little.

"8..."

"7..."

"Main engine start." The orbiter leaned forwards under the force of the three powerful main engines, before settling in its upright position.

"5..."

"4..."

"3..." Genezer's hue began to take on a bluish tinge.

"2..."

"1..." Valentina began to grin madly.

"Booster Ignition. Liftoff. We have liftoff of the CTS-3 mission to Crippen Station." Massive vibrations shook the orbiter as the liquid fuel boosters ignited and the explosive bolts holding them to the pad fired, propelling the stack up and away from the pad. Jebediah's voice rang out over the radio once again.

"The tower has been cleared. All engines look good. Beginning roll maneuver." Valentina pulled out her mirror so she could see the ground out of the rear observation windows swinging into view below her. She glanced over at Genezer who looked like he was about to pass out, his body vibrating intensely along with the orbiter. Valentina sighed, and watched as the trees on the ground became smaller and smaller, until finally she couldn't differentiate one from another.

"Roll maneuver complete, Explorer you're looking good!"

"Throttling back for maximum dynamic pressure. Engines at 67%, over."

"Roger, max Q. Prograde lock established, over." Silence. "Explorer, you are go at throttle up." Suddenly, Valentina felt the orbiter wobble. It was slight, but enough to concern her. It's gotta be nothing, she thought, saying something would only freak out Genezer.

The ground was quite far below her now and she noticed some firey stuff around the leading edge of the orbiter. Nothing to concern myself with, she thought, everything's under control. She pushed her worries to the back of her mind and proceeded with the mission as planned.

"Control, this is Explorer. We have liquid booster thrust trail off. Ready for booster sep, over."

"Roger." Valentina could see a flash out the window of the orbiter as the separatrons fired to push the boosters away from the orbiter.

"Show clean separation flight. Guidance systems now converging." After a few seconds of silence, the radio crackled back to life.

"Explorer, press to ATO." The orbiter began to flip on top of the external tank. The pages of Valentina's open booklet began floating up wards. She looked over at Genezer who was still holding his breath, sighed, and continued to focus on the mission at hand.

"Roger control, all systems nominal at this time. Standby for press to MECO."

"Explorer, this is control. You are go for main engine cutoff."

"Roger. Main engine cutoff on schedule." As acceleration stopped, the few loose items on the flight deck really started floating. Genezer lost his grasp on his booklet and scrambled for it, serving only to push it further away from him. So far so good, thought Valentina as she let out a chuckle.

"Explorer, this is control." Jeb's voice boomed through the comms. "Go for ET sep."

"Roger, we have external tank separation." Val replied, "beginning minus Z translation, over." She let out a giggle of glee. Finally she was able to do something. She grasped the translation hand controller and manually fired the thrusters, slightly accelerating the orbiter away from the external tank. Her task complete and sense of purpose restored, Valentina settled back into her chair satisfied.

"Roger, we copy. Please advise when ET umbilical doors are closed over." Val waited for the light to pop on indicating that the doors were indeed closed before responding.

"Umbilical doors closed, over." The flight deck was silent except for the hum of the onboard fuel cells. After a few seconds, Jebediah resumed his duties as CAPCOM.

"Explorer, control, no OMS one required. Standby for OMS two at apoapsis." Valentina was a little disappointed that Jeb's tone showed little appreciation for what she considered an extremely skillful ET sep, but that fact did little to dampen her spirits.

"Well Genezer, how does it feel? Your first encounter with microgravity." She looked over to see his arms dangling out like a scarecrow.

"I don't quite know what to do with myself," he replied nervously.

"You'll get used to it." Val punched 'KOS105' into the keyboard in front of her and hit enter, running the program that would take the orbiter through it's OMS two burn. Jeb's voice burst out of the microphone violently once again.

"Explorer, this is control. Coming up on OMS two over."

"Roger control, OMS two." Genezer's booklet that had collected in a corner of the ceiling began moving towards the back of the flight deck as the orbiter accelerated towards its prograde velocity. The orbiter was entering the night side of Kerbin, leaving the flight deck shrouded in darkness. Genezer reached forwards and flipped one of the many switches, illuminating the entire interior. The orbital maneuvering systems then cut out, and Genezer's training kicked back in.

"OMS two cutoff. We have achieved orbit." He said with a sigh of relief. He looked over at Valentina who gave him a huge grin.

"Roger Explorer, you are go for payload bay door open." Val unlatched her safety harness and propelled herself to the rear observation window in the back of the flight deck. She watched as the doors slowly opened, exposing the critical cooling radiators to the vacuum of space. It was at that moment that the thick accent of Wernher Von Kerman echoed over the radio.

"Congratulations on achieving orbit. This is the third mission in the Collins Transportation System Program and it certainly won't be the last." Val signed, she was familiar with Von Kerman's long winded speeches to his flight team. Genezer on the other hand was listening intently, picking up every word. "I never thought we'd get to this point, I wouldn't ever have imagined it in my wildest dreams, I appreciate all of you. It means a lot to me, it really does. Nothing makes me happier than seeing all you people achieve great things. You have all truly reached up and touched the face of the heavens. Just thought I should say that..."

"Uh, sir..." Jebediah could be heard interrupting in the background.

"What?"

"Explorer just missed it's rendezvous with Crippen Station. They're now moving away from each other!"

"Impossible. FIDO assured me there would be time for a speech!"

"It seems our periapsis was lower than we thought sir. We rendezvoused earlier than expected." After which Jeb snidely added, "Which you would have read if you weren't too busy revising your speech." Valentina assumed that Von Kerman had stormed off in a fit of rage because she heard a small snort right before his voice promptly disappeared. Her next thought was Genezer. She looked in his direction. He was freaking out.

"What're we gonna do!" he cried. "We missed our rendezvous, we're gonna run out of fuel and freeze to death up here!"

"Relax," replied Val, "you'll die of CO2 poisoning when the scrubbers lose power, long before the cabin drops to a lethal temperature."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Genezer wailed. I guess I could have worded it better, thought Valentina.

"Ok, calm down. Mission control will think of someway to get this mission back on course."

"Back on course!? We should immediately abort!"

"Nonsense, I'm sure control will come up with something. Isn't that right Jeb?"

"Uh, give us a moment..." He responded. Valentina raised her palm to her face in disbelief.

"I guess we'll have to give them a moment," she reasoned. "In the meantime, snacks are in order. Want anything Genezer?" He took a second to respond, then muttered, "Chocolate bar."

"A chocolate bar it is. Be right back." Valentina swiftly maneuvered herself through the port side hatch to the mid deck. Once through, she pushed off the far wall and propelled herself up against the stowage lockers. She found the one marked snacks and grabbed two chocolate bars. Valentina then pushed herself back up through the hatch and onto the flight deck just in time to hear the radio crackle to life.

"Alright, so change of plans," said Jebediah. "You don't have enough fuel to safely rendezvous with Crippen Station and return home. So the smart guys down here at mission control have come up with a plan that I think you'll like Val. It requires a lot of... hands on maneuvering." Val started grinning madly again. "We're going to have you rendezvous and dock with a demo payload from the Condor Program, an upper stage of a Condor Nine Full Thrust rocket, and refuel your orbital maneuvering system. I knew sending real rocket fuel up on those dummy payloads was a good idea!"

"I assume control has already plotted an intercept for us?" Val queried.

"The program has already been uploaded. It'll get you close, but you'll have to do the fine close in maneuvering manually." Val brought up the program on the flight computer and ran it. "The Condor upper stage has already begun it's burn, it will intercept imminently." Val turned to Genezer who was still a little freaked out, but by now had mostly calmed down.

"You'd better eat this candy bar quick, because things are about to get pretty heated up in here." She advised while pushing the candybar towards the pilot's seat.

The two kerbals chowed down on their chocolate bars while waiting for the OMS burn. They took the opportunity to peer down at their little green and blue planet and marvel at how small they were in the vast scale of the cosmos. Two explorers on the edge of a great adventure.

The OMS engines burned for what seemed like an eon, as red fuel lights popped up all over the glass cockpit. Genezer had his face glued to the screen, watching every liter of fuel burn out the back of the orbiter. Valentina on the other hand had her face plastered against the window, eager to get a first glimpse of the upper stage that would be their savior.

"Alright Val, you're up." said Jeb through the radio as she watched a glint in the distance materialize into a fully fledged Condor upper stage. She grasped the translation and rotation hand controllers tightly knowing that every firing of the RCS lowered the remaining fuel reserves. The sun was just cresting over the horizon as Genezer manually confirmed a hold at 20 meters with the orbiter's rangefinder. "The upper stage should have more than enough fuel to get you to the station and hopefully home." Jeb announced optimistically. "You just have to get it into your payload bay."

"Time to test out this new Kraken Arm," said Val, quickly floating over to the robotic arm controller at the rear of the flight deck. Kraken Tech had manufactured all sorts of contraptions for the Eric Johnson Space Administration in the past but the return of the Kraken Arm signals a new era in space exploration. One where berthing modules is as simple as lifting them from one place to another as you would lift your own arm. The possibilities are endless. The Kraken Arm is truly a wonder of Kerbal Engineering and an asset to any space program.

Valentina wrestled with the controls as she struggled to undo the multitude of latches that kept the Kraken Arm secure. It took some work, but the arm finally reached up and out of the payload bay. The light on the end of the arm shone on the upper stage, illuminating it for the two kerbal crew to observe.

Valentina reported back to the kerbals on the ground. "Control, this is Explorer. Upper stage appears to be in good condition."

"Roger Explorer, you are go to remotely pilot the upper stage into position." Genezer punched some keys on the console and grabbed his own translation and rotational controls. Outside the window the two could visually see the upper stage thrusters firing bringing it closer and closer to the orbiter. Genezer brought the stage right up alongside the wing and gave Valentina a thumbs up. She lunged with the arm, clipping the side of the stage and sending it floating away from the orbiter.

"Dang it, so close." Val exclaimed.

"I'm on it," shouted back Genezer who punched the controls. The upper stage shot back towards the orbiter. The proximity and collision alarms sounded and bathed the cockpit in red light.

"It's coming in too quick," squealed Genezer, "I can't stop it."

"I got it," said Val through gritted teeth. The Kraken Arm swung around, it's magnetized end reaching to grab hold of anything it could on the upper stage. The arm collided with the stage with a clanging that could be heard vibrating through the orbiters frame. Powerful electromagnets activated, latching the stage to the arm, stopping it inches away from the fragile HRSI tiles. The unimpressed voice of Jebediah once again came on over the radio.

"Good job Explorer. However, the engineers tell me that the Kraken Arm is currently blocking the refueling port needed to transfer fuel between the upper stage and the orbiter. You're going to have to detach the arm at the base, and move it to the other side of the payload bay."

"What!?" yelped Valentina, "You want me to steer the arm to another base point while it is off structure? You've finally gone crazy Jeb."

"Hey, I'm just the messenger. Do your job commander." Val grimaced. She pressed the button to separate the arm from the orbiter payload bay. It was now free floating, attached only to the upper stage, and remaining in proximity due only to Genezer's skillful RCS maneuvering. The arm swiveled, traversing the cargo bay ever so slowly, heading for an aft docking port. Val pressed the control stick forward, lowering the base of the Kraken Arm towards its berthing position. The magnets took hold and the arm was attached securely to the orbiter once again. Val let out a sigh of relief.

"Control, this is Explorer, the arm is back on structure."

"Roger Explorer, Now maneuver the stage vertically into the payload bay." With no time for celebration, Val skillfully maneuvered the Condor upper stage over the obiter flipping it perpendicular to the craft. She then bent the elbow down, pushing the bottom of the stage into the payload bay. The wrist, elbow and shoulders operated in unison as the upper stage descended towards the fuel port. With another clang, the ports latched.

"Control, the Condor Nine Upper Stage is securely latched. Running fuel transfer program."

"Roger Explorer, upper stage fuel pressure readings nominal. You are go for fuel transfer." Genezer watched as the fuel gauges moved towards full. Val detached the Kraken Arm.

"Control, this is Explorer, we are releasing the upper stage at this time."

"Roger Explorer, you are go for upper stage departure." Val hit the button and Genezer sent the upper stage floating away from the orbiter with a puff of rcs. Val looked out the payload bay observation windows and watched it drift away from the orbiter. Space may be dangerous, she thought, but you certainly can't beat the beauty and adventure. Val managed to catch some great shots of the disembarking upper stage with a digital camera as it floated away. When the rangefinder signaled that the upper stage was one hundred meters out, Val began the stowing procedure of the Kraken arm, latching all the segments together. It folded up, each segment lying on top of the last. Genezer oriented the upper stage retrograde and burned the engine, deorbiting it and disposing of any potential debris. The two kerbals watched out the window as the stage shot away and out of sight.

"Explorer, this is control. The good news is that you are only about one hundred kilometers away from the station."

"And the bad news?" Responded Valentina with a sigh.

"Well, you're ahead of the station and in a lower orbit."

"And that means we'll need to expend more fuel to get into a higher orbit and let it catch up."

"Roger. Mission control has already plotted you a burn. They're putting you into an elliptical orbit that dips above the station's orbit before intersecting. It should slow you down enough for the station to catch up."

"Should!?" cried Genezer, "Should!? Aren't you guys supposed to be rocket scientists?"

"I'm not," replied Jeb, "I just fly the stuff." As Genezer looked down, embarrassed, Valentina drifted around the flight deck collecting loose objects such as Genezer's booklet. She pushed off the back wall, propelling herself towards the skittish pilot. She stopped herself with this back of his chair, and extended the booklet towards him. Genezer took the booklet timidly and stowed it in the pocket beside his seat.

"Explorer, this is control. Prepare for OMS burn."

"Roger control, strapping in." Valentina and Genezer pulled their harnesses over themselves in preparation for the acceleration of the burn. Valentina couldn't help but feel a little restricted by the straps after the freedom of microgravity. The sensation of free floating was hard to give up. She looked back over to Genezer, his arms floating out like a scarecrow again.

"For pete's sake, put your arms down," squealed Val, "people watch the cockpit camera footage you know."

"There are cameras in here?" Val put her palm to her forehead in disbelief. It was at that moment that the OMS engines fired pushing the craft towards its eventual rendezvous with Crippen Station. The burn lasted less than ten seconds but as soon as the OMS engines cut off Val could feel the RCS controlling the fine maneuvering, ensuring a close rendezvous with the station.

"Explorer, this is control." Jeb's voice crackled over the radio again. "The good news is FIDO reports that your closest approach to the station is under two point five kilometers."

"And the bad news is that we've dipped past bingo fuel." replied Genezer quickly, eyeing the red screens.

"Man, you're killing me. I was just about to say..." Valentina was in no mood for games.

"Which means we don't have enough fuel to deorbit." muttered Valentina, completely ignoring the flustered Jebediah back on Kerbin. She eyed the fuel gauge herself and made a few mental calculations.

"...but there is quite a bit of panic down here at mission control. I'm confident they'll find a way to bring you guys home." Valentina tuned back in just in time to hear the important stuff. "For now, continue with the rendezvous and get to the station."

"Roger control. We'll play the waiting game, over." The silence of space once again overwhelmed the two crew members as the isolation and loneliness took hold.

"Well what do we do now? Asked Genezer nervously.

"I wasn't lying," replied Valentina, "We wait." She reached forwards and turned off the alarm lights signalling bingo fuel. "Might as well go down to the mid deck for some more snacks." The kerbals unstrapped and floated their way through the hatches at the back of the flight deck.

Meanwhile the dark face of the planet rotated below them. The constellations shone brightly opposing the planet with pinpricks of light. The Mun could be seen on the horizon, accompanied by its little green partner, Minmus. As the orbiter hurtled through the darkness the bright sun, Kerbol, peeked over the horizon, casting its light through the windows and onto the flight deck. Valentina peeked her head back through the hatch and witnessed the light filling the cabin, marveling at the life giving power of Kerbol

But no sooner had her face felt the warmth of its rays than Jebediah came back over the radio to tell the two crew members to strap back in for rendezvous and docking. As the crew redid their harnesses, the RCS fired, it's vernier engines consuming what much needed fuel reserves the orbiter had remaining. The orbiter spun around and Kerbol went out of the cockpits field of view. However, as the warmth of the sun left the cockpit, a new star beckoned. A shiny pinprick of light in the distance rapidly growing larger. Crippen Station.

The OMS engines burned again at the closest point to the station, equalizing the relative velocity. Valentina then grabbed the hand controllers and began to maneuver the orbiter closer to crippen station. The first thing that struck Genezer about the station was how small it was. He knew it was still incomplete, but he had expected something a little more magnificent than the two habitation modules and node that were rushing towards the orbiter.

As the station reared bigger and bigger in the windshield the proximity alarms fired.

"We're coming in too fast Val," advised Genezer, "We're going to collide!"

"I... Know..." said Valentina through clenched teeth and she attempted to negate the craft's velocity relative to the station. As the shadow of the orbiter enveloped the station Val lost sight of the station. There was silence for a few seconds as the orbiter decelerated, one meter per second at a time.

"I think we're ok!" Said Valentina to reassure Genezer. Boom! The nose of the shuttle impacted the station. Seventy tons of orbiter plus the payload mass hurtled into the side of the station. "Well, I hope that doesn't leave a mark." Said Valentina nonchalantly, as the station spun back into view. "Get us underneath it," she commanded Genezer, "I'm going to grab it with the arm." Val floated over to the controls and unlatched the arm. The RCS fired at Gene's command, maneuvering the station directly over the orbiter. The Kraken Arm extended, servos whipping the arm up and out of the payload bay and towards the little station. Val activated the magnets at the end of the arm attaching it to the station with a small thump. So far so good, she thought. The next step was getting the station into the payload bay perpendicular to the length of the obiter. Val slowly flipped the station vertically and began bringing it down into the bay. She struggled with the controls as the small but relatively massive station rotated above the orbiter. The arm flexed, lowering the station into the center of the payload bay. After what seemed like an eternity the magnetic locks on the bottom of the payload bay activated, securing the station.

"Look at that," said Valentina cheerfully, "Didn't even scrape once!"

"Roger Explorer, control can confirm, no scrapes. Next step is getting the pressurized mating adapter berthed."

"Roger, working on it." With one end of the Kraken Arm hooked to the station and the other end already attached to PMA1 at the rear of the payload bay, the task appeared simple to Valentina. However, Crippen Station blocked her view from the payload bay observation windows and so she was forced to rely on cameras placed in the bay posing a more complicated situation. Val cycled through all the cameras on the screen in front of her, making sure the situation was as nominal as it seemed. When everything checked out she pressed the button that would undock PMA1 from the rear attachment point in the payload bay. The hooks unlatched and the magnets deactivated, allowing the arm to pull the pressurized mating adapter away from the orbiter payload bays rear wall. But Valentina quickly discovered that the job wasn't going to be as easy as it first seemed. The clearance between the station module and the rear wall of the payload bay was barely enough to fit PMA1 and moving the thing proved to be difficult. Crippen Station received a few new dents and dings, each one announced by a vindictive comment from Jebediah over the radio. It didn't help that the Kraken Arm kept running out of batteries, charged only slowly by each segment's own localized radioisotope thermoelectric generator. After jamming the PMA in the payload bay a couple times, it finally popped out to cheers from the crew and mission control.

However the job was not over, and Valentina was still glued to the controls, maneuvering PMA1 onto the top of the station module. After multiple attempts, she managed to get the adapter on crooked.

"Control, this is Explorer. We have non nominal PMA1 berth."

"Roger Explorer. Prepare for re-berthing of PMA1. Detach and rotate PMA1 to the proper orientation." Valentina sighed.

"What were you hoping for?" Genezer asked, "Did you think they would allow you to leave it rotated incorrectly?"

"I was kind of hoping." replied Valentina as she pressed the button to undock the pressurized mating adapter from the top of the station. As she began to rotate PMA1 Genezer drifted over to watch. He realized mid flight that he had pushed off too hard and was hurtling towards the console at the rear of the flight deck.

"Watch out!" yelled Genezer as he flew towards the focused and preoccupied Valentina. She turned just in time to catch Genezer, knocking her back onto the switchboard.

"You've got to be more careful," scolded Val. "Gene, are you listening to me?" But he wasn't listening, he was looking out the rear window with a panicked expression on his face. Valentina followed his gaze. "What? Oh no..." PMA1 was off structure, free floating, no longer attached to the Kraken Arm.

"Get off me," said Val angrily as she shoved Genezer into the chair behind them. She forcefully took hold of the controls sending the arm out after the rogue module. The arm extended slowly, too slowly, as the PMA drifted away from the orbiter. The arm reached it's full extension just as the PMA drifted out of range. Val hit the console with her fist.

"Genezer, get us closer to that PMA!"

"Roger, but we'll have to tap into our emergency reserves of fuel!"

"Just do it!" This can't be happening, thought Valentina as the orbiter boosted towards the drifting module. To make things worse the PMA was spinning, making grabbing the proper point on the PMA extremely difficult. She reached for it with the arm but to no avail, the arm could not find the latch point on the spinning module.

"Boost the orbiter towards the PMA!" Yelled Valentina, "Trap it in the payload bay!" Genezer responded instantly setting the orbiter on a course to intercept the floating station piece. The PMA slowly drifted towards the bay only to bounce off the walls of the payload bay. But Genezer was on the rebound. He quickly translated the orbiter underneath the spinning module allowing the top of the station to magnetize to PMA1. The two docking ports attracted one another and they were able to latch, though still crooked.

"Good work Gene," said Val in a bit better mood, "Though this is still your fault..."

"Control, this is Explorer, we have the PMA back on board. We have minimal levels of fuel. Please advise." Genezer ignored Val, continuing with the mission.

"Roger Explorer. Reorient the PMA, and don't accidentally press any buttons this time. We'll send another Condor Upper Stage to get you home."

"Roger, control." Replied Valentina as she reoriented the Kraken Arm to the correct position on the PMA. It took a couple tries, but with a little finagling, and some mild cursing Val was able to get PMA1 properly mated with Crippen Station. Just as Val was finishing stowing the Kraken Arm on the station Jeb's voice boomed through the speakers once again.

"Explorer, this is control. The upper stage is on course for rendezvous. It should intercept your position in about... 5 seconds."

"You couldn't have given us a little more time!" exclaimed Val exasperatedly as she scrambled to move the Explorer into the proper orientation.

"We totally didn't miss our burn time..." said Jeb venomously. "Anyway, you should be able to see the stage now." The commander and pilot turned around to look out the rear observation window.

"Yeah, we can see it all right." Said Val nervously, "See it about to scrape the right OMS pod!" Sure enough the three meter in diameter stage, full of fuel, was centimeters from the nacelle on the orbiters starboard side. The crew watched in horror as the fuel tanks slid past the OMS pod towards the station sticking out of the payload bay. The trajectory eventually proved true and the stages docking port magnetized to the station's firmly mating them together. Genezer let out a sigh of relief.

"See I told you it would be alright." said Jeb exuberantly, "These guys on the ground really know what they're doing!"

"Sure..." replied Valentina sarcastically. "Gene, initiate transfer of fuel into the orbiter."

"Roger. Shouldn't we leave a little for the stage to deorbit itself?"

"Negative, we need all the fuel we can get to get ourselves home. We'll leave the upper stage attached to the station to deorbit at a later date."

"Right, fuel transfer complete."

"Prepare to undock the station. We're gonna test out this new PMA." The reaction wheels on Crippen Station slowed down, dumping all their inertia into the station's angular momentum. The station rotated so that PMA1 was oriented towards Explorer allowing the easiest approach requiring the least amount of propellant.

"You know what, I think we should name this Kraken Arm Jimbo." said Valentina as they were waiting for the station to fully orient itself.

"I agree," replied Genezer, "That is the perfect name for the arm." Together they watched as the station positioned itself above the orbiter. Genezer started the docking sequence, manually steering the orbiter in using RCS. The androgynous peripheral attach system on top of the shuttle payload bay airlock approached PMA1 before docking, jarring the orbiter as it collided with the structure.

"We have soft dock." announced Genezer as the docking ports sealed together. "All systems nominal. Should we hard dock and board the station?"

"Negative," said Val, "leave christening the station to Expedition One. We're just here to add PMA1 and the Kraken Arm."

"Good job, CTS-3." said Jeb "You've managed to turn a doomed mission into a success! With proof that PMA1 is functional you have paved the way for future shuttle missions to Crippen Station." Jeb paused for a moment. "Oh, and mission control has a little present for you. Look out the top observation windows." The crew floated over to the windows and looked out to catch a glimpse of another Condor Upper Stage drifting towards them. "If this doesn't get you home, I don't know what will." Genezer let out a cheer and Val cracked a smile. It was at that moment that Gene knew everything was going to be alright.

The upper stage approached the station and Genezer guided it in with remote control, docking it successfully to the opposite side of the station from the orbiter. The crew then initiated the transfer of fuel from the upper stage, through the station and into Explorer's tanks leaving enough in the stage for it to deorbit itself. Genezer then undocked the stage, pointed it retrograde, and fired the engine sending the stage hurtling towards the atmosphere to burn up on reentry.

With the Kraken Arm secured and PMA1 in place on Crippen Station the crew settled down, fatigued by the day's ordeal, for a night of sleep in the microgravity conditions aboard Explorer. Having eaten their snacks and stowed all their gear, Genezer and Valentina headed down to the middeck where their bunks waited for them. The climate controlled environment of the middeck was almost too comfortable and the two crewmates quickly drifted off to sleep exhausted.

Valentina was jarred awake by the sound of what she recognized as Genezer's favorite David Kerbowie song blasting over the orbiter's speakers. Gene was already up and singing along, floating around the middeck taking care of his personal hygiene.

"Will you shut that noise off!" cried Valentina as she grappled for a microphone to yell at Jeb.

"Sorry Val, his family chose it. It would be disrespectful not to play it until the end." Was it just me or did he seem slightly amused, thought Valentina as she unstrapped herself and went about her morning routine. Eventually the music stopped and their morning briefing began. The briefing was rather short as the day's activities consisted only of a deorbit burn, reentry and landing.

Valentina and Genezer floated their way back up to the flight deck and strapped themselves in. They undocked from Crippen Station smoothly and with a small puff of RCS began drifting away. Gene watched out the overhead observation windows as the station drifted off into the distance.

"Jimbo did a good job." said Valentina, without looking back. "He got the job done."

"You got the job done!" replied Genezer.

"I guess I did, and you helped... a little." After which Valentina added, "We'll just forget about the whole Kraken Arm business." Gene let out a sigh and Val cracked a smile. She delivered a light punch to his shoulder. Val flipped the switch to close the payload bay doors before checking in with CAPCOM.

"Control, this is Explorer. Orbiter is oriented and prepared for deorbit burn."

"Roger Explorer. You are go for deorbit burn." The kerbals felt themselves being pushed lightly into their chairs as the orbiter propelled itself retrograde. The burn lasted about half a minute before the crew continued reentry procedures. Genezer was about to flip Explorer back prograde when he noticed a star in the distance growing consistently brighter. Val was busy reading a checklist and Gene didn't want to disturb her. He looked down to his own booklet. He looked up just in time to see an object speed past the orbiter's port side. Val saw it too.

"Holy smokes, was that the station?" she asked.

"It must of been, control didn't warn us of any debris in our vicinity."

"We must have been within two hundred meters of the thing!" she exclaimed, wiping some sweat off her brow. Genezer just shook his head realizing how close they had come to disaster. Val looked over at Gene, "You'd better not tell!"

"Tell what?" said Jeb over the radio, apparently just tuning in.

"Nothing." Val quickly began flipping through her checklists.

"Well it looks like your trajectory is nominal. You're on course for a landing at KSC, over."

"Roger that, control, we'll see you on the other side." Silence ensued as the crew hurtled towards the atmosphere. The sun rose above them, shining right through the cockpit windows as Explorer pitched up thirty-five degrees. It wasn't long before the kerbals observed some firey stuff burning along and up the sides of the orbiter as it brushed the atmosphere. The craft's nose began to dip as aerodynamic forces took hold.

"We have off nominal heating on the nose." Val yelled at Genezer, "Firing RCS to correct pitch." Genezer could do nothing but watch as Val struggled with the controls. For some reason Genzer felt at peace despite the raging heat of atmospheric reentry engulfing the shuttle, starkly contrasting with his earlier demeanor. He became entranced by the dancing red and orange lights outside the cockpit windows, watching as they whipped back and forth.

"Opening the speed break. Beginning S-turn." The orbiter flipped eighty degrees on it's side as it turned, burning off as much excess velocity as it could. Valentina repeated this process again and again, flipping the orbiter this way and that until the signature dual sonic booms shook the craft. The orbiter's flight surfaces enabled as the orbiter sensed the increased atmospheric density. Gene could see the KSC passing underneath them. He was about to say something to Val, but thought better of it. She knows what she's doing he thought. Sure enough the orbiter spiraled around above the KSC until it had bled off enough velocity to land safely. Contact was once again made with mission control on the ground.

"Explorer is on final approach to the KSC runway."

"Roger Explorer, all systems nominal. You are go for landing." Val pitched the nose of the orbiter down entering the characteristically steep glideslope that allowed the bulky craft to stay in the air. As Genezer looked out the cockpit windows he could see the runway rapidly coming up to meet them. The Vehicle Assembly Building loomed solemnly beside it, casting a shadow across it's tarmac. He could feel the continued deceleration of the orbiter as the atmosphere thickened around it.

"Fifteen seconds to touchdown. Gear coming." The silence in the cockpit was broken by the metallic clunk of the landing gear falling into place. Just when Gene thought that they were going to collide with the ground for sure, Val flared the nose up, killing much of the orbiters remaining velocity and pushing the two kerbals into their chairs. The wheels touched down with barely a bump. Genezer wouldn't have even known he was on the ground if he couldn't have seen the contact light flashing on the heads up display in front of him. He quickly punched the button to release the drag chute, slowing the orbiter down to a manageable speed. Val turned and gave him a thumbs up as the orbiter rolled to a stop on the runway.

Out the cockpit windows, the crew could see their backup crew, Najorie and Kenman already manning the K100 Egress Ladder that could be wheeled up the the orbiters hatch to allow Val and Gene to disembark. Their families were also waiting, cheering and crying hysterically.

"Control, we have wheel stop. A great end to a tough mission."

"We copy Explorer. Prepare for egress." As the ladder pulled up and the hatch seal was broken, Genezer couldn't help but reflect on the mission as he waited on the middeck to disembark. It had definitely tried him as an astronaut but he felt that he had learned a lot from Val and almost felt ready to command a mission of his own. This trial by fire would ensure that Gene was prepared for the reality of spaceflight going forward. It was true that his romantic view of space travel had been shattered by the complexity and danger of the current mission, but the mission had also galvanized him and made him a tougher more seasoned astronaut, able to deal with anything the universe could throw at him; Or almost anything...

Val was the first to leave the orbiter. After getting her body out the little hatchway she stuck her head back inside.

"Don't trip on the way down. It's a big step and there're lots of cameras." She ducked back outside and Gene watched as she proceeded down the steps only to trip and faceplant at the bottom. Bloodied and bruised, Val got back up seemingly unperturbed and took a step back, observing the orbiter. Gene followed her down. The last step is pretty big, he thought as he gingerly lowered himself down with his leg. As his foot was about to reach the tarmac, his other foot slipped on the smooth metal staircase sending him slipping head first into the ground. He stood back up, ignoring the laughing and flashing cameras, and moved to stand next to Valentina. Together they surveyed the outside of Explorer, marveling at the craft that had been their home for the past two days. Kenman got out of the passenger seat of the ladder and came over to stand next to the orange clad Kerbal.

"I saw the wrecked K100 over there." chuckled Val, "You wouldn't have happened to crash the first one you tried to drive over here would you've?"

"Some habits die hard," he laughed, "but great job though Val, you really saved that mission."

"Thanks Ken, and I wish you good luck when it's your turn to go up there." Out of the corner of her eye Val watched Najorie try to extricate herself from the ladder vehicle drivers seat.

"Wait, don't step there!" Val cried, but too late.

BOOM!

Najorie's foot had knocked a fuel line loose and the engine which had been left on ignited the leaking fuel, exploding the ladder truck. Najorie was sent flying through the air where she landed on top of Genezer. Fire crews rushed in to put out the blaze and in the aftermath it was discovered that luckily no harm had come to any Kerbal or Explorer.

What a way to end the mission, thought Val as she and Genezer were ushered away from the burning wreckage of the ladder truck.

"Well I'm gonna need a strong root beer after this one." said Val to Gene, "You coming along?"

"You bet!" replied Genezer.

"Wait for us!" yelled Kenman as he and Najorie ran after them. Genezer laughed along with his fellow astronauts as jokes were shared and stories told. Space is an amazing and beautiful place, he thought, but somehow you can't beat the firm ground and your own bed. Regardless, Genezer was eager to go up again, but right now he was going to enjoy drinking and eating real food at one gee where everything stays on your plate. Gene knew he would return to space, but right now he was happy right where he was, safe on Kerbin's firm and fertile soil.


End file.
